With Joel Embiid's status uncertain, Sixers satisfied to secure sweep and rest

With Embiid's status uncertain, Sixers satisfied to secure sweep and rest originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — In some ways, Saturday afternoon was déjà vu for the Sixers.

With Joel Embiid out because of a right knee sprain, no one knew who’d begin Game 4 at center against the Nets.

That apparently included Paul Reed … the starter.

“Right before the game,” Reed said of when he learned he’d start an NBA playoff game for the first time. “Sometimes it’s (up) in the air. One of the coaches came up to me and was like, ‘You know you’re starting today, right?’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah, for real?’”

Reed went a career-high 32 minutes. He also grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds and played a fantastic all-around second half as the Sixers finished off a first-round series sweep of the Nets. Counting the regular season, the Sixers improved to 12-5 this season without Embiid.

That’s all great and preferable to the Sixers’ two second-round losses in Miami last postseason when Embiid was sidelined because of an orbital fracture and concussion and DeAndre Jordan started.

However, Embiid being out is undoubtedly a negative for the Sixers. It's uncertain when he might be back.

“I just don’t know,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said when asked about his confidence level that Embiid will be available for the start of the second round. “I would say right now, it’s … probably 50 percent, at best.”

Rivers said pregame that Embiid had soreness behind his knee and swelling following the Sixers’ testy and peculiar Game 3 win. That led the MVP favorite to have an MRI, which showed the sprain.

“I talked to him last night. … This is another obstacle in the story that we’re going to write this year, and you’re going to be OK," Rivers said. “It may take a minute, but this is just part of it. I’m sure he’s human and, ‘Goodness, this (happened) again.’ So let’s win, let’s get him back on the floor, and let’s just keep on our own journey. That’s basically what we talked about last night.”

The Sixers will play the winner of the first-round matchup between the Celtics and Hawks, and they absolutely wouldn’t mind those teams playing a long series. Atlanta won Game 3 Friday night at home and will try to even the series at two games apiece Sunday.

Regardless, the Sixers will have a significant break before Round 2 begins. That’s also quite nice for the players who eliminated Brooklyn on Saturday.

“Yeah, it’s helpful for us, too,” Tobias Harris said with a laugh after his 25-point, 12-rebound day. “We need some rest, too. But now it’s just about recharging. The playoffs are all about recovery — recovering mentally and physically. It’s one game. You can’t get too high, can’t get too low over it. This is a great job by us as a team finishing the series.

“But our next opponent is on the doorstep for us, and we’ll be ready for whoever that is. But we do have to recover physically and mentally and understand that we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Harris’ offense was vital in Game 4 with the Sixers’ starting backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and James Harden going a combined 10 for 38 (26.3 percent) from the floor. For the series, Harris averaged 20.3 points. He hit 56.7 percent of his field goals and 57.1 percent of his three-pointers.

The Sixers have long been grateful for his steadiness when the numbers haven’t been so pretty, too.

“He played his tail off,” Maxey said. “His communication out there … I say it every time: He’s a pro’s pro, and he’s always there when we need him. And tonight, we needed him. Guys couldn’t get it going. I was missing layups, James was missing layups — easy shots. (De’Anthony Melton) was joking around about how he couldn’t make a shot in the first half. But Tobias kept us afloat and he closed the game out for us.”

Maxey was also glad to highlight P.J. Tucker’s impact outside of stats. 

“We know the playoffs are P.J. Tucker time, but it’s besides what he does on the court, man,” Maxey said. “What he does in the huddles and what he does behind the scenes that nobody sees … you always see his offensive rebounds, you see his corner threes, you see his toughness on the court.

“But off the court, you don’t see him pulling guys to the side like myself or P-Reed — or even James or the big fella. You don’t see him pulling guys to the side and coaching them and leading. We need that, and we appreciate him for that. He’s been doing it all year, but he’s really stepped it up come playoff time. Like he said, the playoffs start now. I guess they didn’t start this series, but he says they start now.”

A bit of rest before things truly start also seems like it shouldn’t hurt for Harden, who missed straight four games in late March with left Achilles soreness.

Harden said before Game 1 vs. Brooklyn that he felt “great” and “extremely prepared.” Still, he had another poor outing around the rim in Game 4, missing plenty of layups and short floaters he’s accustomed to converting. He expressed no concern with those finishing issues postgame.

Amid the uncertainty about Embiid’s status, Harden sounded confident about this Sixers team ahead of Round 2.

“I think we know who we are,” he said. “We know what we’re trying to accomplish on both ends of the ball. I think for us, it’s just going out there and doing it, and being the best versions of ourselves that we can be.

“Whoever wins, whether it’s Boston or Atlanta, we’ll be prepared. Each game, we’ll give ourselves a chance, and that’s all you can do in the playoffs.”